September , 2018 Volume 3, Issue 2 President’s Message Greetings! All good things must end. I have enjoyed my time at Merced College and my time as Classified Senate President, but it is time to move on. I have accepted a position as an Institutional Researcher at UC Merced. While my duties will be similar, I will be per- forming more in-depth analytics, and there are op- portunities for advancement. Over the past six years, I have made many friends and developed many strong relationships I hope will carry forward in my new endeavors. I will greatly miss my Merced College family. I am very grateful for the support you have all shown me as your President. I hope you will continue to show the same support for my successor. Best wishes, Andrea Inside this issue Welcome New Staff .................... 2 Employee Spotlight .................. 2 Events…………………... ………………..3 Book Review…………..………………...4 Classified Senate Information Merced College Classified Senate Officers President: Andrea Hall-Cuccia Vice President:: Gabriela Garcia Secretary: Delia Esquivel Treasurer: Maria Soto News Letter: Andrea Hall-Cuccia Jason Handforth Web Site: Denise Dupree Jeanette Martin Meetings Third Thursday of every month from 2- 3 pm in the Administrative Conference Room unless otherwise specified. Video Conferencing for Los Banos available upon request. Website: https://mc4me.mccd.edu/ organizations/class-senate/ default.aspx Welcome New Classified Staff Let’s welcome all the new staff that came on board over the past month! New Employees this month: Geneva Corona, Clerk Typist John Exum, Custodian Bradly Peltier, Financial Aid Assistant Ashleigh Rice, Financial Aid Advisor Employee Spotlight Profile: Yeng Her Job title: Administrative Assistant, Department: Information Technology Services Years with College: 17 Yeng assists our CTO with maintaining the District’s technology and software agreements. So, if you are using a software at your desk, it’s very likely, we have just recently renewed the license. She sits in on MCDUG and Technology Com- mittee where she can learn the latest information about areas needing technolo- gy improvements or the latest tools to be implemented. There is plenty more; you can go ask her! A few personal facts about Yeng: She enjoys reading books by Dean Koontz and listening to Ted Talk especially Brene Brown. She finds a lush green backyard to be relaxing. Yeng was born in Santa Ana California and has 12 siblings. Yes, twelve siblings. Lastly, she is currently a full time student and will graduate with her MBA in June. 2 Events Events: Hispanic Heritage Month Speaker The Office of Student Equity is excited to share our September Speaker for Hispanic Heritage Month. Dr. Joaquín Zihuatanejo is a poet, spoken word artist, and award-winning teacher. Born and raised in the barrio of East Dallas, Joaquín strives to capture the duality of the Chicano culture in his work. His work focuses on a young man existing somewhere between the streets of the barrio and the dream wanderings of a boy finding refuge in a world of stories and poems. There will be a talk and performance of poems and stories from the classroom in the morning, fol- lowed by an interactive workshop on teamwork. The afternoon will feature a performance of spoken word poems on a wide range of topics. Follow- ing that will be another interactive workshop on teamwork. Everyone is encouraged to attend this great opportunity. You can attend one or multiple performanc- es. There will be a morning session and afternoon session 3 Book Review Book Review: My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl Big New York Cheesecake, featured in the book At the outset, let me say that I’m no cook. Nor a foodie, nor even much of an eater. But I love Ruth Reichl’s writing. (Thanks, librarian Dee Near, for the introduction.) Reichl, food critic, editor and novelist, gives us her food journal in print. Sumptuous to look at, satisfying to hold, the book is a triumph of graphic design as well as a deli- cious read. It revisits the year after Gourmet magazine closed. Reichl, its editor in chief, was sixty-one and frightened. For a while, she literally didn’t know what to do with herself, so she went for the de- fault: cooking, then posting the results on Twitter before her family devoured them. "In my kitchen, I always felt very alone and suddenly I wasn't," she says. Twitter "is a great way to feel connected in the world when you are in a very low place.” At one point, Reichl turned down an offer from a prestigious magazine she doesn’t name. The pressure, the tension – not a good fit. Reichl made it a point to thank her Twitter followers in the book's acknowledgments. “You helped me survive a very dif- ficult year," she writes. "I'm not sure I could have done it without you." The gorgeous food and nature photos are worth the price of the book. Reichl cooked seasonally and regionally whenever possible. They make one want to eat, cook and read more Reichl. (In my case, two out of three aren’t bad). 4 .